The Path to Prosperity: America's two futures, visualized

Shuster Votes to End Onerous Health Care Mandate on Small Businesses

Today, the House passed legislation Congressman Bill Shuster cosponsored to repeal a useless and burdensome mandate on small businesses contained in the health care law.

The House acted to repeal Section 9006 of the health care law, which requires anyone with a trade or business to file an IRS 1099 form for vendors with whom they do $600 or more in business in a given year. For America’s small businesses this requirement, which would go into effect next year, is nothing more than a paperwork and compliance nightmare.

“As a former small business owner I know the burden wasteful paperwork can have on productivity and administrative costs,” Shuster said. “Our focus should be on making it easier for small businesses to invest, create jobs, and grow our economy. The 1099 reporting requirement in the Obamacare bill is another example of burdensome federal regulation and I enthusiastically voted for its elimination.”

Shuster is not alone in his opposition to the 1099 reporting requirement. Even the Internal Revenue Service’s own National Taxpayer Advocate noticed its negative impact on small businesses. In July the Advocate reported that “[T]he new reporting burden, particularly as it falls on small businesses may turn out to be disproportionate as compared with any resulting improvement in tax compliance.” And that “[S]mall businesses that lack the capacity to track customer purchases may lose customers, leaving the economy with more large national vendors and less local competition.”

Shuster Statement on President’s FY2012 Budget

Congressman Bill Shuster released the following statement on the President’s FY 2012 budget proposal:

“If you believed the President in his State of the Union Address when he talked about his commitment to ending unsustainable spending, you would think he presented the wrong budget to Congress today. Here we sit $14 trillion in debt with our heads underwater and the President proposes more spending, more borrowing and more taxes on a recovering economy.

You don’t throw an anchor to a drowning man. You don’t create jobs, grow an economy and reduce debt by spending more than you can afford. At no point in the President’s 10 year budget proposal will the government spend less than it will take in. The national debt under the Obama budget will increase by $7.2 trillion, with 40 cents of each indebted dollar paid to foreign creditors like China.

The American people made their voices heard in November. They want to stop the runaway spending binge President Obama and the Democrats started. I look forward to working with my Republican colleagues in working to present our own budget that will cut spending, burdensome regulations and taxes to put the economy back onto the path of growth and opportunity.”

The President's FY12 budget has arrived...

Remarks Honoring Rep. Giffords and the Victims of the Arizona Shootings

The House Floor Live: Opening Session of the 112th Congress

Watch the opening session of the 112th session of the House of Representatives live here!

speakerboehner on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

Jobs Report Yet Another Reason for Congress to Act on Taxes

Congressman Bill Shuster released the following statement on today’s job report:

“The economy added only 39,000 new jobs in November, marking the 19th consecutive month that unemployment has stayed above 9 percent. In the face of these numbers the outgoing Democrat leadership in the House voted yesterday to increase taxes on an estimated 750,000 small businesses.

The economy is still in a state of uncertainty. Businesses are trying to plan for next year under the looming threat of a massive tax increase that will take effect less than 30 days from now unless Congress does its job and extends the current tax rates into 2011 for all Americans.

The American people sent Washington a message on election day that they are tired of false promises and failed leadership on the economy. Instead of taxing more, Congress needs to spend less. I am committed to working with my colleagues in the incoming 112th Congress to roll big government back and let our business community do what it does best: innovate and create opportunities for all Americans.”